my greatest guy. >> all right. so that is the point for tonight. we'll be back again tomorrow night. thanks for being here. new this morning, north korea ramping up its nuclear program as the u.s. navy moves in with a missile defense ship. a stunning revelation in the murder of colorado's prison chief. how a paperwork mistake allowed his alleged killer to walk free. taking no chances in kaufman, texas, armed guards at the courthouse where prosecutors are trying to figure out who would want them dead. from dunk city to the city of angels, the coach who steered florida gulf coast to a stunning upset lands a new gig! >> and a fat paycheck. >> i hope so. good morning, welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans this

tuesday morning. >> and i'm john berman. zoraida is off this week. as christine said, it is tuesday, april 2nd, 5:00 a.m. in the east, and we start with major news overnight. an aggressive move in the nuclear standoff with north korea. while you were sleeping, north korea announcing plans to restart a nuclear power plant that had been idle for six years. the yongbyon nuclear complex is said to contain the uranium enrichment facility and a nuclear reactor. it was moth balled in 2007 as part of an agreement with the united states and four other countries. meantime, pyongyang has a propaganda video playing on state tv. here here here's. >> reporter: the message is clear, north korean soldiers firing on a paper target with the words usa on the helmet, a live fire drill that aired on state tv vowed to show its enemies in the united states and south korea that it was ready to fight, showing off the military skill with weaponry.

and the nation's top athletes running through typical drills with ease. the hermit kingdom releasing this video just days after it declared it was in a state of war. this is not the first time north korea has aired this sort of military readiness video. in march of last year, it pledged a "sacred war" against south korea. state video showed soldiers unleashing dogs in the snow, attacking an effigy of then south korean president lee myung-bak. a train is shown running over a cutout of the president. state tv also showed the military using rocket launchers to blow up an effigy of the then president who they called the leader of the "puppet nation of traitors." but what's unusual about this latest video is the rare show of firing on a u.s. target, even if it is just paper. the pentagon says it remains unconcerned about what north korea says. the u.s. cares what it does. >> we haven't seen any kind of

troop movements on the north korean side that would indicate imminent military action, so we think that things may be dialing down just a bit on the korean peninsula. at least we hope so. >> reporter: south korea responded to north korea's days of threats with a warning of its own. south korea's president announced any provocation by north korea against her country would result in a strong response in initial combat, essentially lowering the military barriers to respond immediately to a north korean attack. the big concern here on the peninsula is miscalculation, that in this heated environment, there could be a mistake, either from the north or the south, and then this region could trip into conflict. kyung lah, cnn, seoul. a stunning admission this morning. the suspect in last month's murder of colorado's corrections chief should not have been a free man. court officials now say even ebel -- evan ebel was released from jail four years early due to a clerical mistake.

ebel was supposed to serve more time for punching a prison guard, but they weren't clear that it was consecutive, in other words, after the one he was serving. >> i am confident that they will fix the problem going forward and that it won't happen again, and i think it's probably worth the effort to go back and make sure we don't have any other cases out there where this problem has occurred before. >> ebel is linked to the murder of colorado prison chief tom clements and a pizza delivery driver last month. he was killed in a shoot-out with police in texas two weeks ago. we're also following new developments this morning in the murder of texas district attorney mike mclelland and his wife. the search warrant shows they were shot multiple times in their home just a couple months after an assistant d.a. in kaufman county was also killed. investigators have no clear move or suspect in either case. cnn's george howell is live in kaufman, texas. good morning, george. >> reporter: john, good morning. so, new information here in kaufman. we know that this county now has an interim district attorney.

brandy fernandez will hold that role for a period of 21 days until governor rick perry appoints a new d.a. for this county. still no new leads for investigators, and for the people of kaufman, the unanswered questions are taking a toll. just off the town square in kaufman, texas -- >> in the front room most of the time and don't have light, because it's a private area, so they would have like him and his wife and some friends or whatever. >> reporter: lisa hawke and debbie ray say the mclellands were regs at the speciality tea room. they saw mike and cynthia here days ago, just days before the county's district attorney and his wife were shot dead in their own home. when you heard about what happened -- >> it was heartbreaking. >> yep. >> heartbreaking. >> just shocking, very shocking. not really soaking it in, i don't think, so. >> this is a small town.

it hits very close to home. people are on edge a little and afraid for the rest of the city employees. >> mm-hmm. >> reporter: it's the second prosecutor to be killed in two months in kaufman. first, assistant d.a. mark hassey gunned down on january 31st, then his boss, d.a. mike mclelland and his wife found dead saturday, shot multiple times. there are many questions, but answers are in short pply. even public officials are taking precautions. >> i'm certainly aware. fear? i don't know that that's the right word, but awareness. all of us are cautious now. >> reporter: police say they have no suspects, the motive is unclear, and authorities have not officially said whether the killings of the two prosecutors are connected, but that's what most people here seem to think. >> one and one makes two. you can't keep from connecting these. and so, of course, our concern

is what is going to happen next. >> reporter: so, kaufman county is the sort of small-knit community where neighbors know one another. people knew the mclellands, and now we're seeing changes. for instance, the changes here at the county courthouse, we're seeing extra security here, we're seeing public officials and law enforcement even having security themselves. the sort of changes we're seeing here until investigators track down the killers in these cases. >> george, you say you're seeing the differences in security. how about the differences in mood? is there a specter hanging over this community? >> reporter: there is. and here's the thing, especially when it comes to law enforcement. i talked to a person who represents a police union here for the state of texas, who represents this particular county and this police department here, and he said that, you know, for law enforcement, this is the loss of family members, to lose prosecutors, it's like a family loss. so, there is a mourning period, but there's also a heightened

awareness and very acutely aware of the danger of their job. so, we're seeing law enforcement officers and even public officials, john, you know, acting a little differently than they would usually, extra security for many people until investigators get to the bottom of it. >> you know, i think that's understandable. george howell in kaufman, texas. thanks this morning. a major overhaul in connecticut's gun laws in the wake of the sandy hook school mass erie. a bipartisan task force of lawmakers have agreed on new legislation. it adds more than 100 types of guns to the state's list of banned assault weapons and limits ammunition magazines to ten rounds and requires background checks for all weapon sales and sets safety standards for school buildings. it's expected to pass easily when the legislature votes as early as tomorrow. >> so, the nra is going to offer its own strategy today to prevent gun violence in schools. the national school shield program details training recommendations for armed school guards and guidelines for local officials on how to modify

ordinances in order to allow the armed guards in schools. there's a new law in the tiny georgia town of nelson. every household now required, required to have a firearm and ammunition. the city council passed this resolution last night. supporters say nelson has only one police officer and that gun ownership helps keep this little town safe. so, what happens if you don't comply, you don't want to own a gun in nelson, georgia? well, there's no penalty. the law is largely symbolic, and people who don't want guns in their homes don't have to buy one. new this morning, the first of 35 atlanta public school officials accused in a widespread cheating scandal has turned herself in. dmeeka goods on turned herself n at the jail this morning. she was the principal at the kennedy middle school. all teachers involved in the probe must turn themselves in today to face racketeering and other charges. news about the head coach of florida gulf coast university. he's cashing in on his team's

cinderella run in the ncaa basketball tournament. he's been hired as the new coach at usc. in a release, the school says "andy's success is not a splash in the pan. he has a proven record of success for 15 years in the college and nba." said to be a six-year deal well over $1 million a year. florida gulf coast was the first 15th seed to ever advance to the tournament's sweet 16 and the school going on in the statement to say, john, that he's been successful in every area of his life and they'd like to see him. >> he founded a start-up that's now worth $100 million, married to a "maxim" model, the leading free throw percentage shooter in college basketball history. the guy has been pretty successful. his salary going from $175,000 now to over $1 million a year. in case you're wondering why he's taking the job at usc. ten minutes after the hour now. the commander in chief playing comforter in chief at the white house easter egg roll. seems yesterday's race did not go too well for 5-year-old donovan frasier of scranton,

pennsylvania. so, when the president saw the little guy crying, he walked over, gave him a big hug and told him to shake it off. so, it worked. donovan stopped crying and his relieved dad has a fantastic story to tell. >> here's the thing about the easter hunt. you know, it's a lot of little kids on this massive, capitalist hunt for eggs, you know? and sometimes the little guys, they get a little sensitive when they can't get -- they're not as fast as the bigger ones. >> my boys are into full contact easter egg hunting. there are always injuries. >> i know. >> so a serious thing. a trial investigating the death of michael jackson begins in just hours. why his mother is convinced someone other than dr. conrad murray is to blame for his death. with the spark miles card from capital one, bjorn earns unlimited rewards for his small business. take these bags to room 12 please. [ garth ] bjorn's small business earns double miles on every purchase every day. produce delivery. [ bjorn ] just put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? ahh, oh! [ garth ] great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. here's your wake up call. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose double miles

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concert promoter that worked with jackson on his ill-fated comeback tour. the suit accuses the company of being negligent in hiring murray to treat the king of pop. cnn's miguel marquez now with a preview. >> this is it, and see you in july. >> reporter: "this is it's" meant to herald michael jackson's comeback. ♪ like so many things in jackson's life and death, it's become a supersized trial. reports the jackson family seeking from concert promoter aeg as much as $40 billion for the wrongful death of the 50-year-old king of pop. reports the jackson camp denied. >> if the jury feels the family deserves $40 billion, that's what they're going to get, but i can tell you, no demand has been made by the jackson family for $40 billion from aeg. that is just not true. ♪ >> reporter: at the center of the trial, who hired dr. conrad murray, found guilty in 2011 of

involuntary manslaughter for injecting the insomniac pop star with a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol. >> what do you think as his mother caused his death? >> i don't know. all i know is they used propofol and they shouldn't have used it. >> reporter: the plaintiffs, jackson's mother katherine and his three kids, blame aeg. its lawyer says there was never a signed contract and murray, who was never paid anything, served only at the pleasure of michael jackson. >> if you look at it accompliceitly, he was chosen by michael jackson to be there at michael jackson's behalf. michael jackson was the only person who could get rid of him at will. >> reporter: possibly testifying, jackson's 16-year-old son, prince michael, and 14-year-old daughter paris. also on the list but not expected to testify, the artist prince, who had his own history with aeg. musician quincy jones could take the stand to testify how much

jackson could have earned if he had lived. miguel marquez, cnn, hollywood. and a big cnn exclusive tonight. a live jailhouse interview with conrad murray. randi kaye sits down with michael jackson's former doctor from prison. that's tonight on "anderson cooper 360" at 8:30 eastern. >> that will be fascinating. >> oh, yeah. i'm staying up. >> absolutely. 17 minutes after the hour right now. let's bring you up to date. north korea announcing plans to reopen a nuclear power plant that's been closed for years. the yongbyon said to contain a facility and nuclear reactor. a third suspect in the brutal kidnapping, gang rape and robbery of an american woman in rio de janeiro now reportedly in custody. investigators say the woman along with a male companion were held captive for six hours saturday. during that time, they say the man was handcuffed and beaten and the woman was gang raped repeatedly in a minibus. both were dumped 30 miles away.

the incident raising concerns about security in rio ahead of the 2014 world cup and the 2016 summer olympics. >> huge security issue. >> absolutely. the alleged walmart crasher now crashing in jail without bond in san jose. police say 33-year-old hamid zayead was strung out on drugs when he plowed his oldsmobile into the store sunday morning. he then jumped out and started beating people until a bunch of customers tackled him. four people were hurt, one seriously. ten people were injured when a car crashed into a crowded las vegas restaurant at lunchtime. witnesses say the man came barreling into the restaurant a few blocks off the strip yesterday. people held the driver for police when he tried to run away. two victims are in serious condition this morning. no word what caused the man to crash into a restaurant. every parent i know talking about this story. the number of u.s. kids diagnosed with attention hyperactivity disorder up more than 50% over the last decade. this spike has some experts asking if some doctors are too

quick to diagnose adhd and then prescribe medication for it. the cdc says nearly 6.5 million kids from ages 4 through 17 have been reported with the disorder, most of them now on drugs to control it. >> and some are questioning whether parents and doctors are putting kids on these drugs to enhance their performance in school in some cases. >> there are serious questions about this. all right, today is world autism awareness day. people across the globe are talking about the disorder and how it affects patients and their families. about 1 out of every 100 people in this country is diagnosed with autism. >> now let's get to the point. that is a name of a new show airing this week at 10:00 p.m. eastern on cnn. it's about getting to "the point" of the stories making headlines that day. one of the hot topics on last night's debut show, the devastating leg injury suffered by louisville guard kevin ware. jason taylor sure understands what the young man's about to go through because he watched a former nfl quarterback suffer a similar fate. >> joe theismann went through a very horrible situation, and

thankfully, medicine has changed nowadays to where kevin ware has a better chance of coming back than joe did at the time, but joe had a very hard time talking about it, and when i had been around him, he didn't want to speak about it but i'm sure he's dealt with it and moved on, but it's very hard to see that. we have to understand when you take the field, whether it's the basketball court, the football field, whatever sport it is, you're taking a risk. >> catch "the point" tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern on cnn. coming up, we hear it all the time, we say it all the time, my taxes are too high, but does the u.s. even stack up globally? i've got tax numbers for you. tax numbers on a tuesday morning. >> yes! >> whoo-hoo! percent of investors can expect to find in their portfolio, is unexpected risk. bny mellon has the vision and experience to help. we look at the full picture... to uncover risk, find opportunities, and create a plan that's best suited for you.

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returned to victims of bernie madoff's ponzi scheme, bringing the total return to about $5.5 billion. sounds like a lot, but investigators say investors lost nearly $18 billion in madoff's scam. most of the money still unaccounted for or hasn't been returned. bernie madoff, the mastermind behind that biggest ponzi scheme in history, is serving a 150-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2009. all right, everyone complains about their taxes. think your taxes are too high? try going to denmark. the top income tax rate there is 60%, the highest in the world. this is according to the oecd. denmark, followed by sweden, belgium and the netherlands. down at 20 out of 34 countries ranked is the united states. >> wow. >> they come in with a top tax rate of 44%. that's in california. not only that, but we tax fewer people than other countries. our top tax of 44% kicks in only on incomes over $400,000, compared to denmark, where the 60% rate applies to people making about $55,000.

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new this morning, north korea playing nuclear chicken. their plan to ramp up production of bomb fuel. no comfort for the families of murder suspect evan ebel. they've learned a clerical error set him free when he should have

been behind bars. mark sanford's big chance. can the disgraced former south carolina governor get back on the comeback trail? well, the political victory today. interesting. welcome back to "early start," everyone. i'm john berman. >> and i'm christine romans in for zoraida today. it is tuesday, april 2nd, half past the hour. let's get you up to speed. new and potentially dangerous developments this morning from the korean peninsula, the north announcing plans to restart a shuttered nuclear power plant as the u.s. moves a navy destroyer close to the korean coast. the "uss mccain" capable of shooting down any medium or long-range missiles that might be fired by the communist north. the military move comes as south korea's president lowers the bar for a military strike. cnn's jim clancy live for us this morning from seoul, south korea. jim, north korea plans to restart this nuclear complex, a complex shut down back in 2007. what, in your view, is the significance of this? >> reporter: well, you know, half a dozen years ago, yongbyon

was all in the headlines as the world was trying to get north korea to shut it down. they largely succeeded. by 2008, the cooling tower had been collapsed it was out of service. things went south from there in terms of the relationship between north korea and the rest of the world. it was still listed as a state sponsor of terrorism. it was still trying to sell its missiles to other rogue regimes around the globe. and so, well, we arrive at this location today, and that is when they say they are going to restart that facility. that means that it's going to enhance their nuclear weapons program, and they say it's also going to be used to generate electric power, but therein lies a challenge. you know, north korea doesn't have a great safety record. there's not going to be any outside inspectors in there to insure safety standards. and some, like daniel pinkston of the international crisis group, say that's a problem. >> the recent accident of fukushima, even very advanced

countries like japan had this accident. we saw the accident at chernobyl, at three mile island. and as far as safety standards goes, north korea's probably near the bottom of the list. >> reporter: it's a very troubling announcement. both the south korean and the chinese foreign ministries terming it regrettable. christine? >> jim, the u.s. now positioning more military in the korean peninsula. despite saying they do not believe the country's rhetoric at this point. talk about the american military move. why? what's the concern? >> reporter: well, the u.s. military's watching the situation closely. they have said that they don't see, you know, any unusual troop movements. at the same time, they're moving in the "uss john mccain," the destroyer. they're moving in a radar platform. this indicates they suspect perhaps the next move by this young north korean leader, kim jong-un, is going to be to test

fire some of his missiles. this is a long-held pattern. he had the long-range test fire. they launched a satellite into orbit. they got sanctions for that. they had an underground nuclear test. what's left are some of the short and medium-range missiles, and i think they expect him to do that. this move is not as much a signal perhaps to north korea, but to the u.s. allies in the region, we've got your back. christine? >> all right, jim clancy for us this morning in seoul. thanks, jim. 6,000 lives lost in syria last month. the opposition says that is the deadliest month since the civil war in the country erupted two years ago. cnn cannot independently verify these numbers. the tally does not include people held in detention centers or people who have been kidnapped by rebels. their fate unknown. court officials in colorado this morning apologizing for a paperwork error, a paperwork error that allowed evan ebel to be freed from prison four years too soon. ebel was released back in january. he's suspected of killing

colorado's corrections chief and a pizza delivery driver last month. ebel later died in a shoot-out with police in texas. the death penalty remains on the table for alleged colorado movie theater killer james holmes. the prosecutor rejecting a plea deal to avoid execution if holmes is convicted, saying he will seek the death penalty. last summer's rampage left 12 people dead, 58 others wounded. holmes' trial will not begin until next year. his attorneys say they intend to pursue an insanity defense. okay, so, the jodi arias trial could end today in a mistrial -- >> no. >> -- because of a juror accused of misconduct. details are sealed, but arias's lawyers says juror 5 has been talking to other jurors about the case. at the very least, they want her booted from the jury. the judge is expected to rule on the defense's request today. all right, on his way out the door, former missouri congressman todd aiken roughly doubled his staff's payroll. salary figures show in the last three months of 2012, aiken paid his 14-person staff nearly

$400,000, which is twice as much as the quarterly payroll for the rest of last year. aiken's former communications director says it was a separation package for staffers who lost their jobs after the congressman was beaten by claire mccaskill in the missouri senate race in november. it was sabotage. that's the claim from a friend of ashley judd who says kentucky politics had both democrats and republicans working against her possible run for the senate. miller spoke last night on erin burnett's "out front." >> some of them wanted another candidate, secretary of state alison grimes, and for good reasons they wanted her, they thought she would be a stronger candidate, but others sought to either profit from her, working on her campaigns or would love to have a friend in the u.s. senate. and then kind of ironically, on the other side, you had people who weren't friends of secretary grimes who wanted to push her into the senate race so that she would be running for governor or lieutenant governor back home, because she might be a rival of one of their preferred candidates. >> miller claims others

circulated lies about statements reportedly made by judd as well as president clinton's involvement in t race. former south carolina governor mark sanford finds out today just how much voters are willing to forgive and forget. sanford is a republican runoff election facing off next month against democrat elizabeth colbert busch for the opening congressional seat in south carolina's first district. he faces curtis bostick. sanford held the 1st district seat there for three terms in the 1990s. he's trying to rebuild his political career after disappearing from the state four years ago, only to return and confess he was having an extramarital affair. new jersey governor chris christie makes it official. kids under age of 18 cannot use tanning beds in the garden state. he signed a bill into law that was initiated after that woman, a north jersey mother, made headlines and briefly faced child endangerment charges. an extremely tan patricia krentcil denies taking her daughter into a tanning booth

with her. the charges were later dropped, but she became sort of infamous about the whole thing. >> i think that's the right word. >> i think jersey became a little infamous from that whole episode. 36 minutes after the hour. louisville guard kevin ware appears to be bouncing back quickly from his gruesome leg injury, said to be up and walking on crutches and eager to rejoin his teammates as they shoot for the ncaa championship. ware's mother also spoke for the first time, recalling the conversation she had with her son right after that awful, awful injury. >> he didn't say hello, he didn't say anything. all he said was, "i need you to calm down," and he kept saying that, and him saying that it made me do that. i mean, he knew that i would be devastated about what happened and not be able to help him in any way, but he was okay, and him being okay helped me be okay. >> i mean, he really seems like one of the most calm, cool and collected people throughout this

ordeal. after visiting him, coach pitino said kevin was in good spirits and anxious to get out of the hospital. on "starting point," former quarterback joe theismann joins us live. he knows a lot about this thing. we'll talk to him about the broken leg he suffered and what lies ahead for ware. you might remember punk singer michelle shocked's antigay rant and now she explains why and if she's even sorry. and david beckham moved to paris to play but may already be looking to return to his roots. [ male announcer ] how do you measure happiness?

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the sports world this morning mourning a big loss. the head coach who helped turning the chicago bears around in the 1970s, leading to their first postseason in 14 years, jack pardee started as a linebacker in texas. his coaching career began after he played for the rams and redskins between 1957 and 1972.

on monday, jack pardee's family announced his death from cancer at the age of 76. michelle shocked apologizing for an antigay rant at her concert last month in san francisco, where she slammed same-sex marriage and suggested that god hates homosexuals. the singer says people misinterpreted her comments. she told her side of the story to cnn's piers morgan in an exclusive interview. >> i admit i made a mistake, piers. if i had the chance to go back and do it again, i don't think i would have taken the audience up on their choice. in no way do i disavow the lbgt community in the same way i don't disavow my faith community. >> do you have any problem with gay marriage? >> no, i don't. >> you support it? >> i do. >> so, you support full gay rights? >> absolutely. >> shocked claims she was expressing the way other people feel about same-sex marriage. the rant cost her several gigs that were canceled after her

outburst. now to our one on one with david beckham. soccer superstar, devoted dad, devout to posh spice, rather handsome men, moved to paris after cementing his superstar status with the l.a. galaxy. his paris team is now gearing up for a huge champions league quarterfinal clash tonight against barcelona. the paris club president already trying to convince beckham to stick around past his current five-month deal, but as beckham told our pedro pinto, he's holding out hope for a return to his home team. >> what do you think continues to make you so popular? what do you think people want from you all the time? because no matter how long you go in your career, at tension doesn't stop. >> yeah. no, you know, i've had the attention almost everywhere i've played or everywhere i've gone or everywhere i've lived, and

that's it. you know, the attention, i've gotten used to. there are other things that come with me and come with me coming to a club, like you said, but i think the thing people always look at is the professionalism. >> you mentioned your family, and i believe they're in london. you're here in paris. you go back and forth all the time. how is it being back in europe and being so close to london? >> i mean when you speak about the sacrifices, that's obviously the sacrifice that i have to make as a father and as a husband, you know, being away from my family. you know, it's only for a short time, but it's difficult being away from the children, you know, being away from the children every single day. but you know, they understand it. they understand that daddy works hard. >> has it been a challenge sometimes trying to explain to your kids how famous you are, how their life is not like other kids' life, how there are certain things that they just can't do and -- >> yeah, i mean, my oldest now

is at the age where he kind of wants to do things and wants to go places. and you kind of ask -- you have to hold him back, or we have to hold him back, because you have to kind of explain to him that there are certain things that he can't do. but to be honest, with our children, we let them do 99% of the things that they want to do, because we want them to lead a normal life. >> what about your future with england? did you ever see yourself put on the england shirt again? i know how passionate you are about it. >> one of the reasons why i've never retired from the england team is because if there's ever an opportunity to play for them again, then i'm available. if there is any chance of me playing for my country again, i would never turn that down. so, you know, i'm, like i said, i'm almost 38 years old, so chances are very slight, but you never know. >> it would be shocking if england took him back on the team. beckham not closing the door on the paris saint-germain team either. he says he's open to extending

his stay in paris, saying it's always nice to be wanted. you know, i think david beckham is frequently wanted, one way or another. >> true. coming up, a crook trying to make a clean getaway meets a clean window head on! so embarrassing. we'll be sure to show it again and again and again and again. >> and again! and if you're leaving the house right now, you can watch it again and again and again and again any time on your desktop or mobile phone. just go to cnn.com/tv. at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally.

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good morning. 49 minutes after the hour. let's get you up to date. new this morning, north korea has announced it plans to restart a nuclear power plant that's been closed for six years. the yongbyon nuclear complex is said to contain both a uranium enrichment facility and nuclear reactor. it was moth balled in 2007, part of an agreement with the united states and four other countries.

meanwhile, the u.s. has moved a navy destroyer, the "uss mccain," closer to the korean coast. production of the popular mtv show "buckwild" has come to a halt after one of the cast favorites died. 21-year-old shain gandee and two others, including his uncle, were found dead inside a ford bronco on a muddy road monday morning in west virginia. officials say there are no signs of foul play. causes of the death still under investigation. a man who spent more than four decades in prison for a 1970 tucson, arizona, hotel fire that left 29 people dead is expected to be released today. new evidence suggested 58-year-old louis taylor may have been wrongfully convicted. he's expected to plead no contest to murder and gets credit for time served. the coast guard investigating why a oil tanker broke away from a pier and hit a bridge linking maine and new hampshire, damaging the heavily traveled bridge, closing it to traffic. the coast guard says there's no sign of a spill and no reports

of injuries. australian police trying to track down a purse-snatcher who made a painful ouch exit -- >> oh! >> -- from the scene of the crime. surveillance cameras caught the suspect smashing through the wrong end of a sliding glass door. hey, he was busy. >> let's see it again. >> an accomplice scares them off and drags him to a getaway car. investigators are checking dna from the blood left behind. >> that's a crazy picture. i'm sure we'll show that again and again and again. >> that's a very clean, clean window. >> wow. >> before he ran into it. >> there it is one last time. sea lion pups have been popping up everywhere along the california coastline. this guy right here, awfully cute, had to be rescued from a garden at a condo complex in carlsbad. he appeared to be malnourished. look at the poor guy. so far, more than 250 stranded sea lions have been rescued this breeding season. scientists think there may be a shortage of sardines and other foods sea lions need to survive.

>> oceanographers try to figure out what's happening. there's something happening in the ocean when you see this, 250 of these guys in the past months. yesterday a beautiful spring day here in the northeast, but it's a different story in the southwest, where they're looking at a storm. >> jennifer delgado live with details in the cnn weather center. jennif jennifer, the cold, is it coming back? >> well, you know, the cold is coming back, but we are going to start off right now with a big problem spot for you this morning. the storms across parts of the south. and texas as well as oklahoma, we have some storms with lightning out there, and this is going to be a bit messy out there for your morning commute. we're also talking about travel delays for dallas, oklahoma city this morning. interstate 40 is slow. today we will see severe storms popping up, and this means across southwestern parts of texas. that includes san angelo as well as into austin. there is a possibility we could see some of these storms producing hail as well as damaging winds, but the big thing that's going to be happening is the very heavy rainfall. look what's going to be popping

up as we go through the next 48 hours. we're talking three inches of rainfall. houston, you're going to get it as well. as we look on a wider picture, sunshine from the south all the way up towards the northeast. as we talk more about the northeast, your temperatures are running 15 to 20 degrees below average for this time of the year, so if you were wondering, is the cold going to return? it is returning. it's not going anywhere. here's a look at your high temperatures for today. then we move it ahead to tomorrow, even cooler in some spots. for new york city, we're only talking a high of 44 degrees. john, i think we both can agree that christine looks very nice in that yellow, springy sweater she's wearing, but you need to bundle up, honey! it is going to be cold out there with some winds right around 25. >> john has not said a word about my yellow sweater. >> thanks for making me look bad. >> he's probably still on that high from baseball yesterday, so we can't blame him. >> ah, yes, that high from baseball. jennifer delgado, thank you so much. >> you're welcome. so, will a duet end the rumors of a feud between jimmy fallon and jay leno?

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welcome back, everyone. 58 minutes after the hour. trending this morning, did you hear this one? princess diana prancing around gay bars dressed as a man with freddie mercury. that's the former british tv star's plans in her new book, describing one night when the princess of wales allegedly put on a camouflage army jacket, a

leather cap and sunglasses so she could grab a beer and a glass of wine at a gay hotspot. interesting. jimmy fallon versus jay leno, buzz over who will win the battle to host "the tonight show." the two late-night stars deciding to set the record straight with a duet. here's late-night laughs "west side story" style. ♪ tonight, tonight, who's gonna host tonight ♪ ♪ is it gonna be jimmy or jay ♪ tonight, tonight, where will they tape tonight ♪ ♪ in new york, will it stay in l.a. ♪ ♪ tonight, tonight, my ratings were all right ♪ ♪ 20 years and i'm still in first place ♪

♪ tonight, tonight, i've got it on the line ♪ ♪ or maybe i could take over for dave ♪ ♪ tonight, tonight, why do they say we fight ♪ ♪ i like you, you like me, we're okay ♪ >> is it funny or touching? >> well, it's hilarious! but it is also very touching. if you watch the whole thing, there's an element of sweetness to it. it's also very poignant. really interesting. worth seeing. visit our website. i'm sure you can see it there. "early start" continues right "early start" continues right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com new this morning, north korea ramping up its nuclear program as the u.s. navy moves in with a missile defense ship. a stunning revelation in the murder of colorado's prison chief. how a paperwork mistake allowed his alleged killer to walk free. taking no chances in

kaufman, texas. armed guards at the courthouse where prosecutors are trying to figure out who might want them dead. from dunk city to the city of angels. the coach who steered florida gulf coast to a stunning upset lands a new big-bucksgig. >> big bucks. >> good morning, welcome to "early start" i'm christine romans. >> and i'm john berman. zoraida is off this week. it is tuesday, april 2nd. 6:00 a.m. in the east. and we're going to begin with the escalating tensions between north and south korea and the united states. the communist north now taking aim at the u.s. new propaganda video playing on state tv in north korea shows soldiers shooting at paper targets of u.s. soldiers. also this morning pyongyang announcing it plans to restart a nuclear power complex in yongbyon that's been idle for six years. barbara starr joins us now live from the pentagon with the latest on these overnight developments. good morning, barbara. >> good morning, john. well, right, more military moves to protect against the north korean provocation. but the real question, what is

north korea really up to? the u.s. navy is moving a warship closer to the north korean coastline. it's also sending ts ocean-going radar. the worry, north korea may be planning more ballistic missile test launches. u.s. officials this missile might be fired in the coming weeks, with a 2500 mile range, it threatens south korea, japan, and southeast asia. if fired and headed for land, the navy ship would then try to shoot it down. the ship along with two f-22 fighter jets and b-2 bombers are washington's latest moves on the chess board to challenge a north korean provocation. the u.s. strategy -- >> it's about showing the south koreans and our friends in the region that we are ready to protect them. in the face of any threats. >> reporter: there are new images of kim jong-un looking

ready for war. but is that his goal? >> i would reiterate that we haven't seen action to back up the rhetoric in the sense that we haven't seen significant changes, as i said, in the north in terms of mobilizations or repositioning of forces. >> reporter: but analysts say that's small comfort. >> this new leadership that's very unpredictable that will fire off a missile then at the same time sit down with dennis rodman and say that he wants obama to call him. >> reporter: victor cha says north korean's recent successful missile and nuclear tests play, perhaps, into the regime's ultimate goal, to not give up its weapons crown jewels. >> you can't put it past them the idea that they are also trying to establish a new equilibrium at which they are accepted as a nuclear weapons state. >> now, it looks like that underground nuclear test was perhaps more successful, more

advanced, than originally thought, john. analysts say there were almost no emissions from that underground test. a strong suggestion that north korea was able to bury it deep underground, and possibly shield it, doing everything they could, once again, to keep the united states from figuring out what they were up to. >> and barbara, there was big news overnight. a lot of people waking up to this development that the north koreans are restarting the yongbyon nuclear complex. explain the significance of this move. >> well, you know, that was shut down back around 2007, after some disarmament talks. now starting it again, that puts north korea back in a position of being able to potentially create enough plutonium material to make one bomb a year. perhaps. that's the concern. underlying all of this is the view that if north korea really is focusing on its nuclear program, on its long-range ballistic missile program, these are the things that have the

pentagon greatly concerned. new developments in the death of colorado's prison chief tom clements. court officials say the man accused of killing him, evan evenle, was released from prison four years early because of a clerical mistake. evenle was supposed to serve additional time for punching a prison guard but the court order failed to specify that the assault sentence should be consecutive and not concurrent. in other words in addition to the time he was already serving. >> i feel confident they will fix the problem going forward and that won't happen again. it's probably worth the effort to make sure we don't have any other cases out there where this problem has occurred before. >> ebel is also suspected of murdering a pizza delivery driver. he died two weeks ago in a shoot-out with texas police. still no suspects, no clear motive in the shootings of kaufman county district attorney mike mclelland and his wife. they were gunned down in their home two months after one of

mclelland's assistant d.a.'s was also killed. security has been tight in kaufman county. it is still very much a community on edge. cnn's george howell is live for us there this morning. good morning, george. tell us the latest. >> john, good morning. look, this is the sort of close-knit community where neighbors know one another. people knew the mclellands, and they want answers in this case. but with no new leads coming from investigators the unanswered questions are taking a toll. just off the town square in kaufman, texas -- >> in the front room, most of the time, and it's a little private area, so they would like him and his wife and some friends, and whatever. >> reporter: lisa hauk and debbie ray say the mclelland's were regulars at the especially for you tea room. they saw mike and cynthia here just a few days ago. just days before the county's district attorney and his wife were shot dead in their own home. you heard about what happened. >> it was heartbreaking.

just shocking. very shocking. not really soaking it in, i don't think. >> this is a small town. it hits very close to home. people are on edge a little. and afraid for the rest of the city employees. >> reporter: it's the second prosecutor to be killed in two months in kaufman. first assistant d.a. mark hasse gunned down on january 31st and then his boss, d.a. mike mclelland and his wife found dead saturday, shot multiple times. there are many questions, but answers are in short supply. even public officials are taking precautions. >> i'm certainly aware. fear, i don't know that that's the right word. but awareness, all of us are cautious now. >> reporter: police say they have no suspects. the motive is unclear, and authorities have not officially said whether the killings of the two prosecutors are connected.

but that's what most people here seem to think. >> one and one makes two. you can't keep from connecting these. and so, of course, our concern is what is going to happen next. >> so what we're seeing here now, more kurt here at the courthouse. visible security. and this unty, john, has a new interim district attorney, randy fernandez will fill that spot for a period of 21 days, until the governor here in texas, rick perry, appoints a new district attorney for this county. john? >> that has to be a difficult job to fill. george howell this morning in kaufman county, texas. new this morning a major overhaul of connecticut's gun laws. a bipartisan task force of lawmakers agreed on new legislation. it adds more than 100 types of guns to the state's list of banned weapons. it limits ammunition magazines to ten rounds and requires a background check for all weapons sales. also sets safety standards for school buildings.

it's expected to pass easily when the legislature votes on this as early as tomorrow. the national rifle association will offer hit own strategy to prevent gun violence in schools today. the national school shield program details training recommendations for armed school guards and for guidelines for local officials on how to modify ordinances in order to allow the armed guards into their schools. every household is now required to have a firearm and ammunition in the tiny georgia town of nelson. the city council passed that resolution last night. nelson only has one police officer, and widespread gun ownership, they claim, will help keep the town safe. so what happens if you don't comply, go out and get a gun? nothing. the law really just symbolic. if people don't want a gun, don't have to buy one. new this morning, teachers wanted in a widespread cheating scandal in atlanta starting to turn themselves in. tammeka goodson surrendered at the fulton county jail early this morning. she was the school improvement specialist at kennedy middle school.

a total of 35 teachers and administrators named in the probe must turn themselves in today to face racketeering and other charges. from gulf coast to west coast. usc has hired andy enfield as its new men's basketball coast. enfield led the florida gulf coast university on its amazing cinderella run in this year's ncaa tournament. usc released a statement saying andy's success this season was not a flash in the pan, he has a consistent and proven record of success for more than 15 years in college and in the nba. not to mention the start-up he founded, worth more than $100 million. florida gulf coast was the first number 15 seed to ever advance in the tournament round of 16. from commander in chief to comforter in chief. seems yesterday's white house easter egg roll, it didn't go so well for 5-year-old donovan frazier of scranton, pennsylvania. when president obama saw the little guy crying he walked over, gave him a big hug and told him to shake it off. that approach, it may not work in the middle east, but it did the trick on the white house lawn. donovan stopped crying, and his

father now has quite a story -- you know, it's the easter -- the easter holidays -- or i'm sorry the candy holidays, any holidays that require candy, 5-year-olds cry. >> the president may have needed consoling himself yesterday. he was playing some basketball with kids out on the lawn. he shot 2 for 22. he missed 20 shots yesterday which is almost mathematically impossible but it actually happened. >> how much candy did he have ahead of time? >> he probably needed a hug himself. ten minutes after the hour. let the media frenzy begin. civil trial over michael jackson's death gets under way just hours from now. find out who could be on the witness list, some big names coming up. [ female announcer] a classic macaroni & cheese from stouffer's starts with freshly-made pasta, and 100% real cheddar cheese. but what makes stouffer's mac n' cheese best of all. that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. made with care for you or your family. it's not what you think. it's a phoenix with 4 wheels.

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yet well within your means. find your away. for a dealer and the rv that's right for you, visit gorving.com. welcome back to "early start," everyone. the civil trial over the death of michael jackson begins today in los angeles with jury selection. jackson's mother katherine is suing concert promoter aeg for $40 billion. $40 billion. she claims the company contributed to her son's death through negligence by hiring dr. conrad murray to treat jackson. murray is now in prison for his role in jackson's death. cnn's miguel marquez has a preview of this trial.

>> this is it, and see you in july. >> reporter: "this is it's" meant to herald michael jackson's comeback. ♪ like so many things in jackson's life and death, it's become a supersized trial. reports the jackson family seeking from concert promoter aeg as much as $40 billion for the wrongful death of the 50-year-old king of pop. reports the jackson camp denied. >> if the jury feels the family deserves $40 billion, that's what they're going to get, but i can tell you, no demand has been made by the jackson family for $40 billion from aeg. that is just not true. ♪ >> reporter: at the center of the trial, who hired dr. conrad murray, found guilty in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter for injecting the insomniac pop star with a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol. >> what do you think as his mother caused his death? >> i don't know.

all i know is they used propofol and they shouldn't have used it. >> reporter: the plaintiffs, jackson's mother katherine and his three kids, blame aeg. its lawyer says there was never a signed contract and murray, who was never paid anything, served only at the pleasure of michael jackson. >> if you look at it explicitly, it's that he was chosen by michael jackson, to be there at michael jackson's behalf. michael jackson was the only person who could get rid of him at will. >> reporter: possibly testifying, jackson's 16-year-old son, prince michael, and 14-year-old daughter paris. also on the list but not expected to testify, the artist prince, who had his own history with aeg. musician quincy jones could take the stand to testify how much jackson could have earned if he had lived. miguel marquez, cnn, hollywood. at 8:00 eastern on "starting point" we're going to talk with

anne bremner, the prosecute here covered conrad murray's trial extensively. and tonight a live jailhouse interview with conrad murray. randi kaye sits down with michael jackson's former physician from prison. that's tonight on "anderson cooper 360" at 8:30. >> 16 minutes after the hour. north korea says it plans to restart a nuclear power plant that's been closed for six years. the yongbyon nuclear complex said to contain both a uranium enrichment facility and a nuclear reactor. it was mothballed in 2007 as part of an agreement with the u.s. and four other countries. as a precaution, the u.s. has moved the "uss mccain" and navy destroyer closer to the korean coast this morning. it's capable of shooting down medium or long-range missiles the north may fire. a third suspect in the brutal kidnapping, gang rape and robbery of an american woman in rio de janeiro, brazil, is now reportedly in custody. investigators say the woman and

a male companion were held captive for six hours saturday. during that time they say the man was handcuffed and beaten. the woman was gang raped repeatedly in a mini bus. both were dumped 30 miles away. now the whole world is watching this, because of the 2014-2016, the world cup and summer olympics. security could be a major, major concern in brazil. >> san jose police think a man who crashed his car into a walmart sunday was strung out on drugs. 33-year-old haamid zaid is in jail without bond. investigators say he plowed his oldsmobile into the store, then jumped out, started beating people until customers subdued him. four people were hurt. one of them hurt seriously. the number of kids diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder up over 50% over the past decade. that spike has some experts asking if doctors are too quick to diagnose adhd and subscribe medication for it. the cdc says 11% of school age

kids have been reported with a disorder. most are on drugs to control it. a new show airing all week on cnn gets right to the point. one of the hot topics on last night's debut show, the devastating leg injury suffered by louisville guard kevin ware. jason taylor understands what ware is going through, after watching the former nfl quarterback suffer a similar fate. >> joe theismann went through a very horrible situation, and thankfully medicine has changed nowadays to where kevin ware has a better chance of coming back than joe did at that time. joe had a very hard time talking about it. the time i've been around him he didn't want to speak about it. i'm sure he's dealt with it and moved on from it. but it's very, very hard to see. we have to understand when you take the field, whether it's the basketball court, the football field, whatever sport it is, you're taking a risk. >> catch "the point" tonight at 10:00 p.m. on cnn. >> you think you have it bad when it comes to taxes? proof it could be worse.

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ooh sunrise over the hudson river. the beautiful george washington bridge right here in new york city. and you are lucky to be in new york city right now if you're looking for a job, rather than europe. minding your business this morning, unemployment in europe hitting a record high in february. >> yeah, brand-new data this morning show unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone 12%. let me compare that with the united states 7.7%. we're going to get a big number in this country on friday. but you know, look, when you see eurozone unemployment at 12% it's a reminder that debt crisis recession still hitting the european economy even as the u.s. has been recovering. on wall street, stock futures pointed to a higher open. we're expecting auto sales to come in very strong today. another sign, again, of that

recovering u.s. economy compared with what is a deepening problem in europe. okay, but it's all local, right? stocks in california, this country's biggest city, to go bankrupt. a federal judge is ruling that the city can move forward with chapter nine bankruptcy, stockton closely watched because it's halted its bond payments and cut city services. but it's still paying into the state pension plan. california law states the pennsylvania plan must be funded. but stockton creditors say that's not fair. how this all turns out could set a precedent for other cash-strapped california cities. you think you pay too much in taxes? do you? >> i'm not going to answer this. i pay just the right amount. >> try going to denmark. okay. we took a look at all of the top income tax rates. 60% in denmark. that's the highest in the world. that's according to the oecd. denmark is followed by sweden, belgium and the netherlands. all the way down at 20 out of 34 countries ranked is the u.s. the u.s. came in with the top tax rate of 44%, where are they paying that? in california.

not only that, we tax fewer people than they do in other countries. our top tax rate at incomes over $400,000, compare that to denmark where the 60% rate applies to people making about $55,000. >> bashing denmark today. >> not bashing denmark. interesting comparison. >> something rotten in denmark. what is the one thing you need to know about your money? >> americans getting better at paying their credit cards. delinquencies on bank issued credit cards fell to less than 2.5%. what does that mean? it's the lowest since 1994. late payments had a record high during the recession but they're getting better. people are getting better at managing their finances, and banks are being much more careful about giving out loans, credit card delinquencies falling. >> that's some great news. >> i know, i'm very happy about that. >> 24 minutes after the hour. accused killer jodi arias could walk free in a matter of hours. why the case could end in a mistrial coming up. plus, the new rules in new

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new this morning, north korea playing nuclear chicken. their plan to ramp up production of fuel for bombs. no comfort for the families of murder suspect evan ebel. they've clerned a clerical error set him free when he should have been behind bars. mark sanford's big chance. the former south carolina gets back on the comeback trail with

a political victory today. big political day in south carolina. >> welcome back to "early start." it's tuesday, april 2nd. right now the united states is smack in the middle of a war of words between north and south korea. the communist north taking aim at the u.s. new propaganda video playing on state tv in north korea shows soldiers shooting at paper targets of u.s. soldiers. also this morning, pyongyang announcing it plans to restart a nuclear power complex in yongbyon, a complex that's been idle for six years. barbara starr joins us live from washington. north korea plans to restart this complex shut down in 2007. what is the significance of this. >> good morning, christine. a lot of worry about this. because if they proceed and restart this reactor, that gives them the ability to create enough plutonium to continue to make their nuclear bombs. perhaps as much as one bomb per

year according to some estimates. you have all the rhetoric on the surface. no indication they're moving conventional forces around and planning any big land attacks. behind the scenes this nuclear question back now front and center. if they reopen the reactor that puts them back on a nuclear track that the u.s. does not want to see. >> the u.s. positioning more military into the korean peninsula, despite saying it doesn't believe the recent north korean rhetoric, at least. why? what's the concern here from our military perspective? >> there's a couple of things. the south koreans really are on the edge about all of this. they're very concerned, making a lot of statements about how quickly they would respond if they see a north korean provocation. so the u.s. wants to put some firepower into the area to reassure the north koreans, the japanese, the other u.s. allies in the region, that they're there for them. but listen to what the white house had to say about all of this just yesterday. >> i would note that despite the

harsh rhetoric we're hearing from pyongyang, we are not seeing changes to the north korean military posture, such as large-scale mobilizations, and positioning of forces. >> so if you're not seeing this large-scale mobilization, what's the worry? the worry remains that the new leader in north korea, kim jong-un, is trying to consolidate his power, trying to rally people behind him, consolidate with his generals, and the question is, is he going to wind up backing himself into a corner, where maybe he will have to lash out and react in a military fashion. that's why the u.s. is there trying to calm the south koreans down, trying to achieve some stability in the region. christine, you know, asia, economic powerhouse behind it -- beyond the security question. this would be an economic disaster if some kind of hostilities, even minor, were about to break out.

>> absolutely. >> 31 minutes after the hour. 6,000 lives lost in syria's brutal civil war in the month of march alone. the opposition says that is the deadliest month since the civil war erupted a little more than two years ago. cnn cannot independently verify these numbers, and the tally does not include people who are held in detention centers or people who have been kidnapped by the rebels. their fates unknown. the man accused of fatally shooting colorado's prison chief last month, he wasn't even supposed to be out of jail. court officials say evan ebel was released four years early because of a clerical mistake. he's suspected of murdering the prison chief tom clements and the other man you're seeing on your screen, a pizza delivery driver. ebel died in a shoot-out two weeks ago with police in texas. security for prosecutors has been stepped up across the state of texas after the fatal shooting of kaufman county district attorney mike mclelland and his wife last weekend. that came two months after an assistant d.a. was also gunned down. meantime, kaufman county now has

an interim district attorney as an investigation into the double murder continues. cnn's george howell following all of the new developments for us. he is live in kaufman county this morning. what is the latest this morning? >> john, good morning. no new leads at this point from investigators regarding these murders. as you mentioned we do know now that this county has an interim district attorney. randy fernandez will fill that spot for a period of 21 days until the governor here of the state, rick perry, appoints a new district attorney for this county. also we have new information from a search warrant affidavit. we now know that the mclellands' bodies, they were discovered by friends who'd been trying to reach them for some time that day. we know mclelland also spoke to relatives on friday, according to that affidavit. and investigators now, they're trying to track down phone records, mobile phone records from a cell phone tower near the home. so that's the latest that we know from the investigation, john.

>> we have some new details just in about the services for the mclellands, who were killed this weekend. >> right. yeah. on thursday. that's when there will be a public memorial service. it will be 1:00 p.m. in sunnyvale, texas. and then the funeral and burial to follow will happen. >> we've been talking about the fact that security has been ramped up for law enforcement officials all around the area. but what's the general mood, george? >> you know, when you talk to public officials, and when you just look at law enforcement here, you get the sense that people are aware. there is an acute awareness of the danger of the job, the possibility here, john, that law enforcement, the public officials, are being targeted. still not clear, but that is a big concern. so what we're finding today, and you know, the other day, here at the courthouse, stepped up security. you're seeing visible security here, and you can tell that law enforcement officers, they are paying very close attention to their surroundings as

investigators try to figure out who's behind these murders. >> all right, george howell, kaufman county, texas, this morning. thanks for being with us. so in colorado the death penalty remains on the table for alleged colorado movie theater killer james holmes. the prosecutor rejecting a plea deal to avoid execution. if holmes is convicted saying he will seek the death penalty. last summer's rampage left 12 people dead, 58 ears wounded. holmes' trial won't begin until next year. attorneys say they intend to pursue an insanity defense. >> so get this, the jodi arias trial could end today in a mistrial because of a juror accused of misconduct. air arias' lawyer says juror number 5 has been talking to other jurors about the case. at the very least they want this juror booted from the panel. the judge is expected to rule today. >> talk about balloon payments. salary records show former missouri congressman todd akin roughly doubled his staff's payroll in the last three months of 2012, paying his 14-person

staff nearly $400,000 for the quarter. akin's former communications director says it was a quote, separation package for staffers who were losing their jobs after the congressman was beaten by claire mccaskill in the missouri senate race in november. a bit of a conspiracy theory to tell you about. a friend who advised ashley jud to run for the u.s. senate says kentucky politics has both democrats and republicans working against her. last night on outfront jonathan miller claimed both sides sabotaged judd's political aspirations. >> some of them wanted another candidate, secretary of state allison griems and some for good reasons wanted her, they thought she'd be a stronger candidate. but others sought to either profit from her, working on her campaigns, or would love to have a friend in the u.s. senate. and then, kind of ironically on the other side, you had people who weren't friends of secretary grimes, who wanted to push her into the senate race, so that she wouldn't be running for governor or lieutenant governor back home, because she might be a rival of one of their

preferred candidates. >> welcome to politics. miller claims others circulated lies about statements reportedly made by judd, as well as president clinton's involvement in the race. former south carolina governor mark sanford finds today if voters are willing to forget his past. he is in a gop runoff election to see who will face democrat elizabeth colbert busch next month for the open congressional seat in south carolina's first district. sanford who left office in disgrace after lying about his extramarital affair in 2009 remember he went on that hike that wasn't a hike. >> the appalachian trail. >> he's being challenged by former charleston county council member curtis bostic. >> new jersey governor chris christie makes it official. kids under 17 cannot use tanning beds in the garden state. and 17-year-olds must get their parents' permission first. christie signed a bill into law that was initiated after new jersey mom patricia krentcil made headlines accused of taking her young daughter in a tanning booth with her. those charges of child

endangerment were later dropped. but the photos certainly did not disappear. >> and in jersey you can still go to the gym and do laundry. you can't do the -- >> jersey shore reference there. >> i met snooki last week. mix 20 pounds of bacon and 40 pounds of decoupage glue. you get a dress made of bacon. the creation was just unveiled at the annual blue ribbon bacon fest in des moines, being modeled by the festival's bacon queen. here's the kicker, though, turns out the dress has to be warmed up before it can be worn. we love our pork in iowa. we love our pork in iowa. >> bacon city. you are from iowa. we expect a bacon dress tomorrow. >> i love my bacon but i don't wear it. i eat it. >> 38 minutes after the hour. and her anti-gay rant left lots of fans fuming. now singer michelle shocked is explaining to our pierce morgan what she meant. it is a cnn exclusive coming up. >> plus a crook trying to make a clean getaway meets a clean

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welcome back. good morning, brooke baldwin joins us with a look at what's ahead on "starting point." >> big morning for us on "starting point" with this guy, john berman, who is joining me. first we're going to continue talking about this intense manhunt for whoever killed the texas district attorney and his wife that continues this morning. with many in this small town texas community, kaufman county, very much living in fear. police are trying to figure out if white supremacist gangs are to blame. we'll get some insight from a former skinhead, former member

of the aryan brotherhood. he'll be talking to us this morning. also it's the injury everyone is still talking about. louisville player kevin ware now on crutches, after that surgery. because of his leg snapping, this massive open fracture during the game against duke. his team plays saturday. we're going to talk someone who knowles what he's going through, former nfl quarterback joe theismann. he's apparently been texting with jeremy. so we'll talk about that. if you heard about this story out of mount hood in oregon. this hiker was stranded for six days on mount hood. we will find out how mary owen survived this whole ordeal. and castle fans, there are many of you, actress stana katic talks about the show. the 100th episode airs this week. her character is smooching and working with the guy who plays the character castle.

she's kind of gorgeous. but that's coming up this morning. so see you then. >> can't wait for that. thanks, brooke. >> here we go. >> welcome back, everybody. >> felt like spring yesterday here in new york and much of the northeast. but apparently that is completely over. bad storms reported in parts of the south. jennifer delgado is live in the cnn weather center with all the details. >> hi, guys. you're right. we are talking about very cold temperatures this morning. in fact, many numbers are below freezing. look at st. louis, 31 degrees. washington, d.c., 39. 34 in new york. now, as we go throughout the morning, temperatures are going to feel even colder out there, because the winds are really going to be kicking up, especially in the northeast. we're going to see some wind gusts up to about 35 miles per hour. so hopefully you didn't pack away those warm cloets just yet. look at the high today. 44 for new york. for kansas city, 52. all the cold air has dipped down towards texas, and that means, your high temperatures, say for

dallas, today high of 71. tomorrow we're only talking a high of 53 degrees. now on a wider view, want to point out to you, windy conditions, a lot of sunshine right along the east coast. i think all the way down toward the south for texas. also we are going to be looking at some severe storms. you could see some of these storms picking up, some strong winds, hail, as well as isolated tornadoes. right now storms moving through parts of oklahoma city, as well as into dallas, and even into kansas city. a little bit of that wintry mix. not expecting much to accumulate. but still, you want to be careful on the roadways. down towards the south, the rain will be coming down over the next two days. you could see 4 to 5 inches of rainfall, and then all that rain spreads over towards the east. now we want to focus kind of on fog this morning. let's go to a live shot. coming out of florida. now you're looking at this area. this is in central florida, known as alligator alley. you're wondering why cars are driving so slow and there's a reporter there and i think we have some video of that

situation there. they closed this down because visibility has dropped down to a quarter mile or less, and it's going to stay that way through 9:00 a.m. and i tell you what, you don't want to be stuck in alligator alley with bad visibility. i'm just saying. >> bad place to be changing a tire. that's for sure. >> exactly. >> jennifer delgado our thanks to you. singer michelle shocked apologizing for an anti-gay rant at her concert last month in san francisco, where she slammed same-sex marriage and suggested that god hates homosexuals. in an exclusive interview on piers morgan live she said people misinterpreted her comments. >> i admit i made a mistake, piers. if i had a chance to go back and do it again, i don't think i would have taken the audience up on their choice, in no way do i disallow the lgbt community in the way that i don't disavow my faith community. >> do you have any problem with gay marriage? >> no, i don't. >> you support it? >> i do. >> so you support full gay

rights? >> absolutely. >> shocked claimed she was expressing the way other people feel about same-sex marriage. the rant cost her several gigs that were canceled after the outburst. australian police are looking for a purse snatcher who made a painful exit from the scene of a crime. surveillance camera captured him smashing through the wrong side of a sliding glass door. he is knocked out and shoppers run to help him. but an accomplice scares off the shoppers, drags the hapless thief to a get-away car. investigators are checking dna from the blood he left at the scene. americans winced as louisville's kevin ware fell to agony. the bleacher report coming up. >> and will a duet end the rumors of a feud between jimmy fallon and jay leno? a west side story duet, no less. stay with us.

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burst onto the national scene and now moves from fort myers, florida, to hollywood. after just two seasons at florida gulf coast, enfield is headed to usc. his 15th seeded eagles made a run to the sweet 16 with a high-flying, wide-open style of play that appeals to southern california, and they swept up the 43-year-old coach. he'll go for making around $157,000 a year to a six-year deal reported at over $1 million per. enfield is taking dunk city from the atlantic sun conference to los angeles, and the pac-12. fgcu star guard brett comber tweeted this about his coach. i love coach enfield to the end. i was his first recruit. he made me the player i am today. enfield and the eagles, they were the tournament feel-good story. kevin ware of louisville was the heartbreak. ware suffered this gruesome leg injury on sunday against duke. he later had surgery to repair a compound fracture of his left tibia. on monday ware was moving around on crutches. he was in good spirits.

he could be released from the indianapolis hospital where he had the surgery on tuesday. and he hopes to join his team in atlanta midweek for the final four. ware's mother lisa talked about her son's ability to come back from his devastating injury. >> i have no doubts that he would be back, stronger, and even better than he was. like i said, he's had to overcome a lot of obstacles, and it seems as if every obstacle that he has to go through, he becomes a better man because of it. >> we wish him well. now baseball the nationals bryce harper accepting the rookie of the year award. he blasted not one but two mammoth home runs to lead the nationals over the marlins. at 20 years old harper became the youngest player in major league history to hit two homers on opening day. i think it's safe to say harper has the highest approval ratings right now in d.c. the los angeles dodgers, they put on a show not far from hollywood on opening day. the first full opening day.

magic johnson was on the mound to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. when skipper don mattingly decided to yank him and instead replace him with dodgers legend and icon sandy koufax. but it was current dodger pitcher clayton kershaw who carried the day. kershaw hit his first career home run in the eighth inning giving the dodgers a lead and followed that up with a complete game shutout of the san francisco giants. guys no one has thrown a shutout and hit a homer on opening day since clevelands bob lemon back in 1953. that's it for bleacher report. it just shows you if you do a good job somewhere somewhere is watching opportunity knock like for coach enfield. >> oh, yeah. i'm waiting for my call for usc. thanks so much. bryce harper meanwhile on pace to hit 324 home runs this season. >> it is nice to hear the crack of a bat again, isn't it? >> it's the best thing ever. >> so are you a team leno or a team fallon member right now?

there's a lot of buzz over who will win the battle to host the tonight show. the two late-night stars decided to set the record straight with a duet. west side story style. ♪ tonight, tonight, who's gonna host tonight ♪ ♪ is it gonna be jimmy or jay ♪ tonight, tonight, where will they tape tonight ♪ ♪ in new york, will it stay in l.a. ♪ ♪ tonight, tonight, my ratings were all right ♪ ♪ 20 years and i'm still in first place ♪ ♪ tonight, tonight, i've got it on the line ♪ ♪ or maybe i could take over for

dave ♪ ♪ tonight, tonight, why do they say we fight ♪ ♪ i like you, you like me, we're okay ♪ >> "early start" is back right after this. ♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪ [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, every innovation, every solution, comes together for a single purpose -- to make the world a safer place. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. she can't always move the way she wants. now you can. with stayfree ultra thins. flexible layers move with your body while thermocontrol wicks moisture away. keep moving. stayfree.

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